AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): An 18-year-old man has died in Indian Kashmir nearly a month after he was injured during a protest, the first official death since India flooded Kashmir with troops, prompting tighter security in parts of the city of Srinagar fearing a reaction.
Asrar Ahmed Khan, a resident of Srinagar’s Ilahibagh area, died on Tuesday night, succumbing to wounds he suffered on Aug 6, three officials said.
“He was reportedly injured with a blunt object in a law and order situation where a violent crowd was indulging in stone pelting,” Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police Dilbag Singh told Reuters.
Khan had been admitted to Srinagar’s Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences with wounds to his head, and was undergoing treatment in an intensive care ward, a government official said, declining to be named.
Singh said there were allegations from protesters that Khan had been hit by a tear gas shell, though authorities suspect it may have been a stone thrown by protesters.
“Matter (is) under investigation,” Singh said.
There have been two deaths reported earlier by media but they been challenged by authorities.
On August 5, Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, delivered a surprise executive decree to strip the India-controlled portion of the Muslim-majority Himalayan region of its special status, claiming that the decision was necessary for Kashmir’s economic development and to stop “terrorism.”
After the decision to scrap Kashmir’s autonomy, Indian authorities imposed security restrictions on Kashmir, fearing massive protests against Modi’s move.
The New Delhi government dispatched thousands of additional troops to the Himalayan region, declared a strict curfew, shut down telecommunications and internet services, and arrested political leaders and pro-independence campaigners.
Pakistan was quick to denounce India’s recent move as illegal, with Prime Minister Imran Khan saying he was considering taking the matter up with the United Nations Security Council.
The Himalayan region is divided between India — which rules the populous Kashmir Valley and the Hindu-dominated region around Jammu city — and Pakistan — which controls a wedge of territory in the west.
Both countries claim all of Kashmir and have fought three wars over the territory.
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source : Reuters, Press TV
Wednesday
4 September 2019
12:04:32 PM
973701
An 18-year-old man has died in Indian Kashmir nearly a month after he was injured during a protest, the first official death since India flooded Kashmir with troops, prompting tighter security in parts of the city of Srinagar fearing a reaction.